BOSTON, March 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Dune Medical Devices, Inc. announced today the MarginProbe System, a breakthrough intra-operative tissue assessment device used during lumpectomy surgery to treat early-stage breast cancer, is now available to patients in the United States, with the installation of the first System at University of California, Irvine Medical Center. Dune Medical Devices will be rolling out the MarginProbe System to additional hospitals across the U.S. in the coming months.

"As one of the investigators on the pivotal clinical trial of MarginProbe, I can speak to the clinical benefits this system provides and was eager to make it available to my patients," said Dr. Alice Police, assistant professor of surgery, UC Irvine and medical director of Pacific Breast Care Center. "Until now, breast surgeons had no reliable method in the operating room to determine if there were still cancer cells on the surface of the removed tissue. The MarginProbe System provides that confirmation during surgery and boosts both patient and doctor confidence in the success of the operation."

The MarginProbe System, which received premarket approval from the US Food and Drug Administration on December 27, 2012, significantly improves surgeons' ability to intra-operatively identify "cancer on the margin" and significantly reduce pathologically positive margins following a patient's initial lumpectomy surgery.

"Dune Medical Devices is dedicated to addressing the issue of positive margins during lumpectomy by ensuring MarginProbe is available to as many women as possible," said Daniel Levangie, Chief Executive Officer of Dune Medical Devices. "With the continued support of advocacy groups, patients and breast surgeons across the country, we look forward to a future where lumpectomy surgery with the MarginProbe System becomes the new standard of care."

MarginProbe has been available in Europe since 2008, with widespread U.S. availability expected in the second half of 2013. For more information, please visit www.dunemedical.com.

About Dune Medical DevicesDune Medical Devices was founded in 2002 by Dr. Dan Hashimshony to realize the extraordinary medical potential of its proprietary tissue characterization technology. Offering surgeons and radiologists the real time ability to identify cancerous tissues and react immediately, this technology holds the promise for a broad range of surgical and diagnostic applications.

Dune Medical Devices is a privately held company financed by Apax Partners since 2004. It has offices in the U.S., Israel, Germany and Switzerland.